Apple iPhone 13 : The iPhone for the Masses

The iPhone 13 is the new iPhone that Apple expects most people to buy, and it’s easy to see why. It has most of what makes the premium 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max great, including the blazing-fast A15 Bionic processor, an ultrawide camera, and a battery that easily provides than a full day of usage before you need to recharge.

If you’re a true power user, the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will beat out the iPhone 13 with their 120Hz ProMotion screens, additional telephoto lens, and generally superior lowlight performance. But you’ll also pay a premium over the base iPhone 13, and let’s face it: The average person isn’t going to split hairs over 60Hz and adaptive 120Hz. The iPhone 13, together with its pint-sized sibling, the iPhone 13 Mini, gets the job done and gets it done well.

Design

The iPhone 13 doesn’t depart dramatically from the design of the iPhone 12. The model I tested was a darker blue than the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max’s sierra blue, which is more of a sky blue color. I like both options, and I’m not surprised they’re proving to be popular choices. You still get the square edges along the sides bounded by aluminum, rather the than stainless steel of the Pro, a Lightning port, bottom-firing speakers, volume buttons on the left below the Ring/Silent switch, and a Side button on the right that activates Siri and can turn the screen on and off.

As with other iPhone models, the iPhone 13 is IP68 dust- and water-resistant and stood up to a thorough rinsing in the sink after I accidentally dropped it into dirt in the park while juggling four phones in my hands. Both the front and back are protected by Ceramic Shield, which is made by Corning, just like the latest Gorilla Glass Victus you’ll find on more recent Android flagships.

The front looks largely the same compared to the iPhone 12, though Apple says the notch that accommodates the TrueDepth camera is 20% smaller. That’s technically true because it’s narrower, but it’s also a bit deeper now, so in my eyes, the trade-off is a bit of a wash. Face ID works the same as before, but its usability with a face mask, and especially a face mask and sunglasses, was hit-and-miss at best. You can do an alternate scan to improve performance with face masks, but it also compromises security, so I preferred to leave it off.

The more notable difference comes when you look at the back. There’s still a vaguely squarish camera housing, but the camera array is positioned differently, with the two sensors placed across from each other rather than vertically. That’s the primary way you’ll be able to tell the older and newer models apart.

Other differences are a bit harder to spot. The iPhone 13 measures 5.78 x 2.81 x 0.30 inches and weighs 6.14 ounces, making it just a tiny bit heavier than the 5.78-ounce iPhone 12, likely to accommodate the larger battery. That’s a worthy trade-off, and in terms of overall footprint and pocketability, I consider the iPhone 13 to be a one-handed device even though the iPhone 13 Mini is Apple’s “official” compact phone.

Display

The 6.1-inch Super Retina OLED screen is big enough that text, apps, and the keyboard never feel cramped, which was an issue for me using the Mini. The 2532 x 1170 Super Retina OLED screen is plenty crisp, certified to work with HDR10 and Dolby Vision for higher dynamic range, and works out to 460 pixels per inch. The bottom-firing speakers were also surprisingly loud and didn’t suffer from much distortion except on the highest volumes, making them more than capable of serving as your audio output when you’re too lazy to pair with headphones.

The screen is 60Hz, but if you’ve never used a higher refresh rate, you won’t be bothered by it. It’s still a little disappointing not to see ProMotion filter across the entire lineup, especially when you’re paying for an $800 phone. You won’t find an Android phone in this price range that doesn’t have a higher refresh rate, and even more affordable midrange options support it.

Viewing angles are great, colors are rich and accurate, and outdoor visibility is excellent thanks to 800 nits of peak brightness. When viewing HDR photos and video, the phone can punch brightness up even higher to 1,200 nits. I didn’t have trouble viewing text, navigating on Google Maps, or seeing the camera viewfinder, even in direct sunlight.

Performance, battery life, and connectivity

Power is one thing you’ll never find lacking on an iPhone, and the iPhone 13 is no exception. It’s powered by an A15 Bionic processor, has 4GB RAM, and comes with a variety of higher storage options, including 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB, though you notably don’t get the highest tier 1TB storage option – that’s exclusive to the Pro models.

The review unit I tested came with an ample 512GB of storage, which was more than enough for my needs — even when taking a lot of photos and 4K video. I suspect 256GB will offer the best balance between price and capacity for most people.

My average day-to-day usage with the iPhone involved quite a bit of time on Twitter, Reddit, and Microsoft Teams, some browsing, lots of photos, and playing some Genshin Impact. Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 13 handled everything I threw at it without any lag or slowdowns. Benchmark testing backs up the strong performance with 827,398 on AnTuTu, which measures overall performance, and 55.1 frames per second on 3DMark’s demanding Wild Life graphics benchmark.

Apple’s marketing material made bold claims that the iPhone 13 can get 2.5 hours more battery life than the iPhone 12. It’s the sort of claim I always take with a grain of salt, especially as a power user who does a lot more on my phone than the average person. So, I was pleasantly surprised when these claims not only proved to be accurate, but were blown out of the water, with the iPhone 13 comfortably lasting a day and a half before needing to recharge.

Part of the reason for this is that the 3,240mAh cell is bigger than the 2,815mAh battery the iPhone 12 came with. That’s a sizable jump, and it does pay off in longer runtime. But what’s also going on is that Apple has improved battery optimization and management with the A15 Bionic, letting you eke more juice out of the cell.

While the previous iPhone might have required topping up while I slept, the iPhone 13 standby time was good enough that I could leave it unplugged and still have plenty of juice the next day. It’s great to see and is arguably the killer feature for the iPhone 13, especially for those who are on older models.

That does bring me to the downside, though. While the iPhone 13 is fully MagSafe compatible and supports 20-watt wired charging, 15-watt MagSafe charging, and 7.5-watt Qi wireless charging, it still uses a Lightning port. As I noted in my preliminary hands-on, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to incorporate non-UBS-C devices in my life.